Dreams of Nashville: An Interview with Mark Morsfield

By Dave Carew

Like many talented young musicians in nearly every American city and town, Mark Morsfield dreams of creating and performing music in Nashville. Currently living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Mark has been playing music in churches for four years. A songwriter since the age of 16, he believes passionately that “songwriting is a craft, and music should either inspire or die.”

Sometime in the next three months, Mark will be acting on his dream and moving to Music City. Here he’ll try to build on the positive feedback he received from Grand Rapids fans and journalists for his debut EP A is for Adventure.

UNDERGROUND NASHVILLE: How would you describe your music? Who has most influenced it?

MARK MORSFIELD: Melodic, progressive, honest, well-crafted, and big! While I have a handful of artists I greatly admire and respect, I don’t seek to sound like them. I want to craft my own sound. What is more important to me is incorporating the shared pillars that all great music has, regardless of genre. Things like strong melodies, resonance, and avoiding formulas. But, since you asked, a few of my favorites include The Goo Goo Dolls, The Beatles, Guster, and U2. I love jazz and classical, as well.

UN: Why do you plan to move to Nashville, as opposed to some other “music mecca”?

MM: It is quite simply a great music city, any way you slice it. There are tons of talented writers, musicians, and artists living and working in the city, which creates an environment that encourages creativity and collaboration. The city has a proud musical heritage ranging from gospel to country to rock to blues. Beyond that, Nashville is diverse, affordable, and has a great arts scene. Oh, and nice weather and good food too!

UN: What does your “dream for your music” look like? What do you want to accomplish with it?

MM: I want the world to hear it, and I want to make a living doing it. Perhaps most importantly, my aim will always be to make great music. Whether or not I achieve that is not for me to say . . . I wouldn’t be that pretentious. Making a great product just for the sake of making a great product will always be the aim, and is perhaps the highest of ideals. For the artist to be truly satisfied, the quality has to be there, in every single detail, even the ones most people don’t notice.

David M. (Dave) Carew is writer/editor of “Underground Nashville” and the author of the novels “Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville” and “Voice from the Gutter,” both now available at XLibris.com. Dave also is a freelance book editor, publicist, seminar and workshop leader, journalist, and advertising / marketing / public relations writer.************Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville by Dave Carew—which was praised by The Tennessean as “beautiful, haunting, powerful”—is now available in an all-new paperback edition. For more information, please visit and “like” the page on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/EverythingMeansNothingtoMe?ref=ts&fref=ts

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Editor’s Note: “Underground Nashville” covers artists, authors, musicians, poets, political figures, and other compelling people and happenings not typically covered by the mainstream Nashville media. It also presents reflections and commentary from an underground/indie perspective, offering “thoughts from the shadows of a great American city.”